Florence Pugh has spoken out over an alleged sexual assault case involving a former student at Cornell University, urging men to challenge the behaviour and institutions she said protect perpetrators.
Seven men are accused of raping and drugging the woman during a Chi Pi fraternity party in 2024. The allegations became public after she filed a lawsuit against the college.
The woman, who has not been publicly identified and is referred to as Jane Doe, alleges that she was assaulted for hours. The lawsuit reportedly included a message allegedly sent by some of the accused in connection with the incident.
Only two of the men were expelled, according to the account, while none were arrested or imprisoned. There have also been claims that some may have been required only to write essays as a sanction.
Florence Pugh calls on men to speak out
Pugh addressed the case in a lengthy statement posted on Instagram as discussion of it spread across social media.
“After reading about the young woman who was gang raped at her college by her friend and school peers, I’m feeling uneasy and sick and anxious,” she wrote. “I’m processing quietly and watching everything and everyone and every man.”
The actor said men needed to take a leading role in challenging what she described as the “allowance and complicity” of such behaviour.
“How can you expect us to trust that it’s ‘not all men’ when in moments like this, many of you stay quiet?” she wrote.
Pugh questioned whether the alleged assault had been planned and criticised anyone who may have known what was happening but failed to intervene. She also condemned what she described as inadequate consequences for those accused of causing serious harm.
“We are not hard enough on those that want to damage human lives,” she wrote. “Colleges/schools/universities repeatedly fail women around the world.”
She said she was “enraged by schools protecting boys, in fear of their futures being wrecked”, arguing that the wellbeing and truth of women who report abuse must not be treated as less important than a man’s reputation.
In a message accompanying the post, Pugh thanked people speaking publicly about the case and said sexual violence was “a human issue, not a women’s issue”. She praised Jane Doe for bringing the allegations forward and offered her support during her recovery.
